THE EDENBANK TRADING COMPANY BUILDING

A Chilliwack-based historian originally researched the following article, the subject of which was the Edenbank Trading Company Building. At the present time, the building is owned by 0714298 BC Ltd., a subsidiary company partially owned by Chehalis Consulting Ltd.

This article first appeared in Facebook on the Chilliwack History Perspectives, in January 6, 2019.

One of Chilliwack’s oldest and more historically significant buildings is situated in Sardis, near the northwest corner of Vedder Road and Spruce Drive (1.4 kilometres south of Highway 1). Most Chilliwackians, past and present, have seen this structure over the years, travelling to and from Cultus Lake/Yarrow, or just around Sardis. Commonly referred to as the “Edenbank Trading Company building” (and in some cases, the “Edenbank Creamery building”), its stature in the community is considerably less than it once was. Nevertheless, this structure, at over a century old, is in good condition and fully occupied, still serving as an active element of Sardis’ business community, as well as an integral link to Chilliwack’s early days.

The roots of the Edenbank Trading Company building ultimately go back to the 1860s, at the start of both Chilliwack’s formally recorded history and that of the region’s developing agriculture industry. In particular, this building is one of the numerous legacies of key early Chilliwack settler, A.C. Wells (1837-1922), and his landmark Edenbank Farm.

Allen Casey (A.C.) Wells had come west from Ontario in 1862 to seek his fortune in BC’s Cariboo Gold Rush. However, as with many before and after him, A.C’s success as a gold miner was limited, and in 1865 he relocated to the Chilliwack area, initially to manage the farm of his sister and brother-in-law (Jane and Charles Evans) located on land they had pre-empted between the Atchelitz River and Luck-a-Kuck River.

One day the following year, 1866, standing on some high ground beside Luck-a-Kuck River, A.C. envisioned what could and would become Edenbank Farm. He soon applied to the Crown to acquire his first land in the Valley. At its peak, A.C.’s farm totalled 450 acres, encompassing the area bounded approximately by Stevenson Road, Knight Road, Vedder Road, and Evans Road. Edenbank would go on to become the oldest continually operating dairy farm in BC, along the way mirroring the growth of the Fraser Valley, from wilderness to civilization.

The critical role that the dairy industry played in BC’s early days cannot be overstated. In Chilliwack’s formative years, circa 1865, the community’s butter was being sold in Barkerville for $1 per pound, and there would be much available land, manpower, and capital in the Valley to advance this aspect of BC’s emergent economy.

Wells had astutely realized early on that agriculture, not gold, would hold the key to the province’s future prosperity. Accordingly, for most of the following century, his massive farm operation would essentially be at the centre of BC’s flourishing dairy and cattle industries, in particular resulting in the Chilliwack Valley’s dairy sector having a long and productive history.

As an aside, it would not be until the mid-1880s that A.C.’s farm was formally named “Edenbank Farm”, inspired by his daughter, Lilly, who thought their land in Sardis was what the Garden of Eden must have looked like.

A.C. Wells was an innovator and entrepreneur, and in 1885, he built the first creamery in BC on Edenbank Farm, calling it the “Eden Bank Creamery Company”. (A creamery is defined as “a place where milk and cream are processed and where butter and cheese are produced, as well as a place for the sale of milk and its products”, which well describes how his creamery functioned). Some early signage for the farm and its related operations showed “Edenbank” as two words, but this convention soon became the familiar one word.

As the Chilliwack Valley’s dairy industry grew prior to the turn of the 20th century, farmers sought means to increase the quality and quantity of their production, as well as an efficient market distribution system. In 1896, these goals resulted in A.C.’s 11-year-old creamery business being incorporated as BC’s first farmers’ cooperative, called the Edenbank Creamery Association (ECA).

Coinciding with establishment of the ECA in 1896, a new creamery building was constructed on Edenbank Farm, replacing A.C.’s smaller, older, and less-sophisticated operation. However, in June 1903, this creamery was destroyed by fire, and a new (and bigger) facility was constructed towards the end of 1904 (see Image #3), located relatively close to Vedder Road.

By 1907, the ECA had discovered that its growing size and financial clout enabled it to buy in large volumes at wholesale, discounted prices. Thus, by avoiding the “middleman”, it could pass on its wares directly to the citizens of the Sardis area at significant savings. During the previous year, the cooperative had delivered this most-welcomed offering through a small informal “store” operating near its creamery.

Continued and increasing demand for this trading service in Sardis ultimately necessitated construction of a new retail outlet. Accordingly, in September 1907, the ECA advertised for tenders to build a new general store, located immediately east its three-year-old creamery, fronting on Vedder Road. (This structure would go on to become today’s Edenbank Trading Company building).

Construction of the new store commenced in late September 1907, with plans calling for a two-storey, 45-foot by 26-foot building. The new retail structure was completed in November 1907, and the resulting new business was known as the “Edenbank Trading Company”. In addition, for several years following its opening, this building would serve as the administrative offices for the ECA.

In 1912, the Edenbank Trading Company was taken over by William Albert Chambers (1879-1957) and his partner F.G. Barr, to be run solely as a general store, and a business that was separate from the ECA. In 1917, Chambers assumed sole control of the Edenbank Trading Company, and he and his store went on to become a prominent presence in Sardis for the next four decades.

Located at 229 Vedder Road, the Edenbank Trading Company was one of the first general stores to open in the district, and in its early years, it served as the business centre of Sardis, playing a significant role in the development of the community. In particular, Chambers’ store enabled the successful growth of numerous farm operations in the area, as over the years many Sardis farmers' families depended upon the general store’s high level of service in taking phone orders and delivering groceries, meat, and other goods.

In a typical advertisement in the Chilliwack Progress, from 1922, reflecting that it truly was a general store, the Edenbank Trading Company offered “dry goods, men’s furnishings, crockery, drugs, groceries, flour, feed, hardware, paints, and oils”.

One of Edenbank Trading Company’s marketing slogans over the years involved its location “just across the tracks” (see Image #12), literally 60 metres south of the old BC Electric Railway line. The proximity of the railway’s line placement to Edenbank was not a geographic coincidence, but rather a result of A.C. Wells’ influence and stature in the community, as the line’s location ensured Edenbank’s and the creamery’s products would get to market more quickly and efficiently.

Under William Chambers’ 41 years of ownership and guidance, the Edenbank Trading Company store became a high-profile landmark in Sardis. During this time, various family members helped run the store, including some of his children, who, when not playing in the creek that ran behind the building, would hide in the rafters of the store trying to spot shoplifters.

Chambers passed away in late 1957, and upon his demise, his wife, Phyllis, attempted to operate the store during the following year, but it proved too challenging. Thus, in the latter part of 1958, the Edenbank Trading Company was officially closed for good, and all its equipment auctioned off. At the time, the store/business was one of the oldest in the Valley. Subsequently, preparations were completed for the building to be leased to potential tenants.

What for decades had been the Edenbank Trading Company general store initially served as a second-hand store. Subsequent years saw this heritage Chilliwack structure host a variety of tenants, including an antique/art/furniture gallery, a real estate firm, a surveyor’s office, an insurance agency, and an appraisal company. The building underwent a full refurbishment in 1972, and in 1974 it became the Sardis office of Fraser Valley College.

In 1988, there was talk of the old general store structure becoming a neighbourhood pub, but this initiative never materialized. In later years, the structure accommodated a “Learning Centre” and an accounting practitioner. In the 1990s, the old Edenbank Trading Company building was known as the Edenbank Professional Building, and its tenants included a cruise travel agency and an insurance agency.

In 2004, the Edenbank Trading Company structure, along with 0.57 acres of land, was offered for sale as an “Investment Opportunity” for $589,000. The vacant land immediately south of the old general store was subsequently developed as a mixed-used residential/commercial structure (see Image #9).

Currently the former Edenbank Trading Company store building (a.k.a. the Edenbank Creamery store and office) is surrounded by considerably more urban development than in its earlier years, reflecting Chilliwack’s growth south of Highway 1. The two cupolas on the roof facing Vedder Road that were featured when the building opened (see Image #1) were removed within its first seven years, while two chimneys were also later taken down. The structure now accommodates three tenants - a small law firm, a Mexican restaurant, and a beauty lounge, and the civic addresses of the commercial units within this Chilliwack landmark are 7103, 7105, and 7107 Vedder Road.

Today this relatively humble building on busy Vedder Road in Sardis gives little hint of its significant history in the development of Sardis, and indirectly, the dairy sector in the Valley. Generations of families depended upon and visited William Chambers’ Edenbank Trading Company store during its four decades of serving the community. It remains a critical link to the Edenbank Farm of yesteryear (and A.C. Wells), and at 111 years old, it is in good repair and well positioned to continue bridging Sardis’ rich past, present, and future.

IMAGES: There are 12 images accompanying this article, each with a detailed narrative.

#1 - This 1908 image, captured facing southwest from Vedder Road, shows the one-year-old structure that would eventually become the Edenbank Trading Company building. Reflecting its role at that time as both the retail store for the Edenbank Creamery Association, as well as its administrative offices, the signage on the structure suggested to some that it was the actual creamery. In fact, the Edenbank Creamery was located adjacent to this building, just to the west of it. A.C. Wells, the founder of Edenbank Farm and the Edenbank Creamery, is pictured to the left of the photo, beside Vedder Road. In 1912, the store within this building was taken over by William Albert Chambers and his partner F.G. Barr. Five years later, in 1917, the Edenbank Trading Company was incorporated, and at that time both the business and the property were under the sole management of Chambers. This image is captured from the same perspective as Image #10; note that over the years, the two cupolas on the roof of the Edenbank Trading Company building have been removed, as well as the two chimneys. In addition, there is no longer a white picket fence in front of the structure, and the one-storey “shed” attached to the north side of the structure was also long ago taken down. (Image Credit: Chilliwack Museum and Archives Collection, Photo Number: 1989.007.024)

#2 – This is an undated portrait of Allan Casey (A.C.) Wells (1837-1922), a key early Chilliwack settler and the driving force behind Edenbank Farm, and in particular the Edenbank Creamery (leading to the eventual construction of the Edenbank Trading Company building). Wells came west from Ontario in 1862 seeking his fortune in BC’s Cariboo Gold Rush, relocating to the Chilliwack area in 1865. He soon applied to the Crown to acquire choice land for what he envisioned would become Edenbank Farm, a massive operation which would go on to become the oldest continually operating dairy farm in BC, as well as essentially the centre of the province’s flourishing dairy and cattle industries. A.C. was an innovator and entrepreneur, and in 1885, he built the first creamery in BC on Edenbank Farm, naming it the “Eden Bank Creamery Company”. (Image Credit: Edenbank – The History of a Canadian Pioneer Farm

#3 – In June 1903, the Edenbank Creamery, constructed seven years earlier in 1896 in conjunction with establishment of the Edenbank Creamery Association, was destroyed by fire. Plans were soon in place for a new (and bigger) creamery to be constructed. This mid-1904 image, facing northeast, shows construction of the new creamery well underway, as it neared its completion towards the end of 1904. This creamery was located relatively close to Vedder Road, immediately to the west of what would be the Edenbank Trading Company building, built three years later in 1907. Note the design similarities between this new creamery and the adjacent Edenbank Trading Company building, in particular the arches. Image Credit: Chilliwack Museum and Archives Collection, Photo Number: 2009.031.001)

#4 - This is a 1914 image of the Edenbank Trading Company building, facing northwest from Vedder Road. By this time the two cupolas which were part of the original structure (see Image #1) have been removed. It would not be until 1917 that the “Edenbank Creamery Co. Ltd.” sign would be replaced with “Edenbank Trading Company” signage. The perspective of this image is similar to Images #7 and #11. (Image Credit: Chilliwack Museum and Archives Collection, Photo Number: 1981.002.125)

#5 – This circa 1910 image of the future Edenbank Trading Company building is taken from Vedder Road, facing southwest. Note the trees and vegetation immediately south of the structure, evidence of the lack of development of that part of Edenbank Farm at that time. Also, this photo illustrates that Vedder Road was still just a dirt roadway with no formal sidewalks and curbs. The simple white picket fence surrounding the “front yard” of the future Edenbank Trading Company building is evident in this shot. (Image Credit: Chilliwack Museum and Archives Collection, Photo Number: 1987.089.005)

#6 – This 1963 aerial image shows the Edenbank Trading Company building and the area immediately surrounding it. As opposed to today (see Image #9), the land immediately south of the structure has yet to be developed at this time. Also note how close the BCER line was to the Edenbank Trading Company building, just 60 metres to the north. (Image Credit: City of Chilliwack

#7 – This 1972 image of the Edenbank Trading Company building, facing northwest from Vedder Road, shows how the structure looked when it was occupied by Edenbank Galleries, an antique/art/furniture store. Note what appears to be ivy in place at that time, hanging from and growing about the arches. The perspective of this image is similar to Image #4, but captured 58 years later. (Image Credit: Chilliwack Progress Archives)

#8 - This 1974 image of the Edenbank Trading Company building, facing west from Vedder Road, shows how the structure looked when it was the Sardis office of Fraser Valley College. (Image Credit: Chilliwack Progress Archives)

#9 – This is a 2017 aerial image illustrating how the Edenbank Trading Company building, and the area immediately surrounding it, appears in its current context. The most significant change in place 55 years after a similar image was captured (see Image #6), in addition to the improved transportation infrastructure, involves the land immediately south of the structure; for many years it remained vacant, but today this land accommodates a mixed-use development. (Image Credit: Google Earth)

#10 - This 2018 image is captured from the same perspective as Images #1 and #5, but over a century later. In addition to several changes to the Edenbank Trading Company structure, the land immediately south of the Edenbank building, which was essentially trees and vegetation in the earlier photos, is now occupied by a mixed-use development. (Image Credit: Chilliwack History Perspectives Collection)

#11 - This 2018 image, facing northwest from Vedder Road, is captured from the same perspective as Image #4, but over a century later. Signage for two of the Edenbank Trading Company building’s three current tenants is visible in the photo. (Image Credit: Chilliwack History Perspectives Collection)

#12 – This is a typical advertisement that the Edenbank Trading Company ran during its 41 years of operation - this one from the August 30, 1950, edition of the Chilliwack Progress. The placement of this ad coincided with the upcoming annual Chilliwack Fall Fair (held in the month of September back then). In the advertisement, Edenbank Trading Company is recommending that the paper’s readers (and its own clientele) attend the Fair, as well as avail themselves of the store’s competitive pricing. One of the marketing slogans employed by Edenbank Trading Company over the years was its location “just across the tracks”, which was literally true, as the store was situated just 60 metres south of the BC Electric Railway line (see Images #6 and #9).